War Docos
Innovative German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl's pioneering masterwork epic "Triumph of the Will" (1934) was explicitly propagandistic yet historical in its spectacular yet horrifying documentation of the Nazi Party Congress rally in Nuremberg in 1934. It was a revolutionary film combining superb cinematography and editing of Third Reich propaganda. She also documented the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the stunning film "Olympia" (1938) - with graceful and beautiful images of 'Aryan' athletes in competition. To respond to the Nazi propaganda, Frank Capra was commissioned by the US War Department to direct seven films in a "Why We Fight" (1943) series of narrated WWII newsreel-style films. The first in the series, "Prelude to War," a look at the events from 1931-1939, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1942. These and many other truely great War Documentaries, including the BBC's brilliant "World At War" series, are available by scrolling below.
Right: William Wyler's Academy Award winning "The Memphis Belle"Â
Arnhem: A Bridge Too Far - The True Story (2001)
5.8/10
September 1944. The Battle of Arnhem was one of the most audacious but ultimately controversial battles of the Second World War. Airborne drops in Hol... Read more
Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State (2005)
3.2/10
Director: Dominic Sutherland, Martina Balazova
Starring: Narrated by, Linda Hunt
This 6-part BBC series tells the story of the Auschwitz Death Camp, site of the largest mass murder in history. Writer Laurence Rees and his team inte... Read more
Barbarians (1998)
5.8/10
They were the dreaded forces on the fringes of "civilization," the bloodthirsty warriors who defied the Roman legions and terrorized the people of Eur... Read more
Battle of Russia (1943)
7.3/10
Director: Frank Capra
Originally made in 1943 as part of the acclaimed Frank Capra series "Why We Fight," The Battle Of Russia examines the various invasions suffered by th... Read more
Battlefield Britain (2004)
8.2/10
Director: Mary Cranitch
Starring: Presented By, Dan Snow, Peter Snow
Dynamic father and son team Peter and Dan Snow present a history of Britain's bloody history, as together with re-enactors and computer graphics they... Read more
Battlefield: El Alamein (2001)
8.6/10
"Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat." Winston Churchill's words illustrate clearly why the two battles fought... Read more
Battlefield: Monte Cassino (2001)
8.6/10
During 1944, the Allies tried desperately to break through the German winter defensive line that blocked the advance to Rome. At the centre of the lin... Read more
Battleground Vietnam: War in the Jungle (2006)
From the beginning of French colonisation to the fall of Saigon in 1975, this is the complete story of the Vietnam War, its roots, its battles, its he... Read more
Battleline: The Definitive Collection (2008)
8.1/10
There are two sides in every war and millions of different stories to share from each battle fought. This collection weaves together unique stories of... Read more
Battleplan: The Complete Series (2005)
An 18-part series that explores the history of military tactics, from blitzkrieg to blockade, from raiding operations to strategic bombing and on to g... Read more